


a good day to be sentimental

by fleurmatisse



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 08:04:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13922886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fleurmatisse/pseuds/fleurmatisse
Summary: Maybe it’s because Dean is getting soft in his old age or maybe it’s because the case they were working went off without a hitch. Either way, when Jack peered out the car window at a cordoned off road and asked, “What’s a midway?” Dean started looking for a place to park.





	a good day to be sentimental

Maybe it’s because Dean is getting soft in his old age or maybe it’s because the case they were working went off without a hitch. Either way, when Jack peered out the car window at a cordoned off road and asked, “What’s a midway?” Dean started looking for a place to park. He’s not sure what exactly is being celebrated with a fair, but there are games set up all along the downtown streets, men with carts of toys and hats and boas passing through. Dean glances back to see Cas eye an invisible dog with suspicion and laughs, the sound getting lost in the noise of the crowd. 

He lets Jack pick where they’re going, happy to explain how the games work, telling him which ones are the best. Jack takes on a pool filled with glass dishes where the prize is a live fish. Dean exchanges increasingly concerned looks with Sam as Jack gets every ping pong ball into a bowl; they’ll have to get an aquarium for the bunker.

After Jack has won five fish, they move on. Sam steps up to walk with Jack as Dean falls back to match Cas’ unhurried pace. Dean bumps shoulders with him, the curious look Cas had for the midway turning content as he meets Dean’s gaze. Dean smiles. Cas smiles back.

The smell of greasy, fried food, heavy on onions, wafts over to them on a light breeze. Dean’s stomach leads them to a street lined with carts and booths selling overpriced, glorified snacks. He buys a corn dog and onion rings and gets Jack an elephant ear because the look on his face when he read that on a sign made Dean laugh. Sam looks at the food with a grimace but he gets one of those giant smoothies in a long neon cup. Cas carries a lemonade, taking occasional sips and holding it out for Dean when he asks for a drink. He also steals one of Dean’s onion rings, and Dean would have fought him for it but he was busy finishing off his corn dog. 

“I would’ve gotten you some,” Dean says, like he always done when Cas steals his food.

“I just wanted one,” Cas says, as usual. His eyes crinkle at the corners when Dean shakes his head.

“Let’s go back to the games,” Jack says, and so they go back to the games. Somehow Sam has become the designated fish holder, even with the giant smoothie cup; he doesn’t seem to mind, but Dean takes two of the bags after he throws out his trash anyway.

“These are some fugly fish,” Dean says, holding the bags up to his eyeline while Jack shoots water in a clown’s mouth to inflate a balloon. They’re goldfish, but their eyes bulge out from the sides of their heads. 

“I like them,” Cas says.

“You would.”

Cas rolls his eyes but puts a hand on Dean’s back when he moves closer for a family to pass and then keeps it there. It’s almost too warm to be touched, but Dean doesn’t shake him off. He looks down the street and spots a darts booth half a block away.

“Come on,” he says, and Cas’s hand falls as Dean leads him to the game. There’s a couple people waiting to play, so they stop off to the side. Dean nudges Cas, pointing toward the biggest toys hanging over the street. “Pick one.”

Cas studies the stuffed animals thoughtfully. “That one.”

Dean follows his gaze and laughs. “Yeah, alright.”

They leave the booth two dollars poorer, but one ridiculously fat octopus richer. When they get back, Jack has a green boa wrapped around his neck and Sam is wearing a very large, very pink hat. Added to the smoothie cup and the fish, Dean cries laughing. Sam shoves the hat on his head in retaliation, but Dean just passes it on to Cas, who only narrows his eyes a little bit as Dean makes sure it’s at just the right angle. 

“The fish need a tank,” Jack says, and they start winding their way through the crowd. Somewhere between the midway and the car Cas acquires Jack’s boa, and while Sam and Jack build a careful nest for the fish in the middle of the back seat, Dean tugs on the boa to bring Cas closer.

“You look beautiful,” he says, grinning. 

Cas shifts his oversized octopus under one arm and holds the side of Dean’s shirt with his free hand. “So do you.”

Dean’s already pretty sure he’s gotten a sunburn, and his face heats more under Cas’ soft gaze. He tugs on the boa again until Cas is right in front of him. “Shut up.”

They drift toward each other; the hat bumps Dean’s forehead. Before he can push it out of the way, Sam and Jack have finished arranging the fish and Dean has to drive them all home. 

Back at the bunker, Sam and Jack go searching for the fish tank Sam swears he’s seen. Cas goes down to his room to deposit his octopus on his bed, and Dean goes with him. It’s a two man job, stuffed animal delivery. The octopus fits in with all the knick-knacks Cas has collected in the last few years. Cas smiles when Dean says as much, and, free of the oversized hat, kisses him once, softly. Dean keeps him close, eyes closed, just breathing and standing and sharing space. Someone raps a knuckle on the doorway, and Dean jumps, hands falling away from Cas, automatically glaring at the intrusion. Mary holds her hands up as a gesture of peace.

“Can someone explain the ugly fish in the war room?” she asks, and Dean looks at Cas like  _ see? _

“Jack won them,” Cas says, ignoring Dean even though they haven’t moved apart. “He and Sam are looking for a fish tank.”

“Oh, I saw one the other day,” Mary says, lighting up the same way Sam does when he remembers something important. She disappears down the hall without another word, and Dean drops his head on Cas’ shoulder.

“At some point we’ll remember to shut the door,” he says. 

Cas laughs quietly, folding his arms around Dean’s back. “At least we were fully clothed.”

Dean groans, shoving ineffectually at Cas’ chest as he lifts his head. “I had finally repressed that.”

Cas laughs again, letting Dean go shut the door. When he comes back, he walks Cas backwards until his knees hit the bed, dropping back automatically. Dean hovers over him just to look at him. He’s feeling sentimental today, sue him. Eventually Cas gets impatient, hands on either side of his face to pull him down. Dean laughs, the sound smothered as Cas kisses him again. It’s a pretty good day to be sentimental.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to my friend for telling me what i should write  
> i'm also on tumblr @ winkingwinchesters


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